Soul Surfer
by Woahnessness
Summary: Lo had been waiting all school year for her friends to come back home. But, once they did, she suffers an unexpected and devastating accident. Will she be able to overcome her loss, or are her surfing days over? OCs included. Loseph and others.


**A/N:** I know I still have all of these stories to finish, but my friend, whom we all know as Emperor of the Animal Kingdom, was really stoked about this idea, and I thought it was amazing.

Also, the characters gonna be dressed differently in this chapter, just so you know. Also, George is going to have a bit of a lisp on his 's', which will be explained in the story.

Also, this story DOES CONTAIN OCs. And there ARE OCxCannon pairings involved. If you're not comfortable with that, I apologize, and I hope you don't judge the story because of it.

**Credit for overall plot and ideas go to Emperor of the Animal Kingdom.**

**Disclaimer:** _Stoked_ and characters belong to their respective owners at Teletoon corporation. The OC, Kendra Hamilton, belongs to S.F. James. David Hughes belongs to WhazzupPeeps. Jess Evans Belongs to DeviantArt's Sop3. I only own my OCs, Kaycee and Roxxie. This fiction is non-profit and purely fan made.

* * *

_I never expected the end of my life to happen in an instant. In one measly second, both my life and my spirit were in shambles. In that moment, my emotions raged with fierce agony, and my heart dropped on it's knees, ready to surrender. As I play the scene over and over in my head, the more real it seemed. I was a careless, reckless teenager having the time of my life, how could I have not seen this coming?  
I wanted to die right then, maybe if I had I would not be feeling this pain, this emptiness. I would not be spiraling down into a dark, cold state of mind wallowing in what had happened in my past.  
However, it may not be visible now; but hope, happiness, and determination never truly left. And my friends are right by my side, ready to help me let the three speak out again._

* * *

Rain was falling quite softly on the vacant streets of Sunset Island. Which may be a nuisance to some, but to others the light patter of the rain was peaceful enough to fall asleep to, as if the heavens decided to play them a lullaby.

The rain was especially pleasing to the Ridgemounts, who lived at the very top of one of the most popular hotel chains in the entire world. All of them, children and adults alike, were preparing for an early sleep, for the day that lies ahead of them. Tomorrow was the day the summer staff would be returning from the long nine months of school. Lauren Ridgemount, the only daughter of the insanely rich hotel owner, could not be happier.

Lauren stared down at the granite bathroom counter top as she gently brushed her hair, a wide and content smile plastered on her face. In all of her life, no matter how many exotic trips she was promised to take, she had never been so excited for summer to come around. After almost a year, she was finally going to be able to see her friends again.

Setting the brush down, Lauren walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. She kissed her parents goodnight. After doing so, her father, Archimedes, smiled at her.

"I know you're excited sweetheart, but please try to get some rest." He said to her, seeing as how she seemed wide awake.

"He's right," Her mother, Nancy, said,"You don't want to be asleep by the time we pick them up. You'd be so disappointed."

Lauren shrugged off her parents concern, "Don't worry, we won't be getting there until five. Besides, if I don't fall asleep in the car after four hours, I can certainly handle two."

"If you say so." Archimedes said, voicing his concern for his daughter.

"I know so, goodnight!" She said merrily as she trotted up the stairs.

"Goodnight Lo." They said in unison.

After that, up until midnight, Lauren stayed wide awake in her bed, dreaming about the day that was just ahead of her. She thought about what she and her missed friends would do together. She promised herself that this would be the most memorable summer of their lives.

Well, this was a promise that would most certainly be kept.

* * *

The alarm clock rang through the large room, causing the young heiress to shoot out of her bed. She threw the covers off of herself and ran toward her closet door. Though, leaving her eye guard on caused her to run into it. She fell on her rear end with a loud thud.

She groaned at her mistake and took off her eye guard. After stopping her alarm clock from making that accursed noise any longer, she ran to her closet to decide on her outfit. Once found, she hurriedly dressed into it. She struggled a bit to keep her toes from getting tangled in the rip in the light blue skinny jeans..

Lauren opened the door to her bedroom, and found that the rest of her family was already up and rushing to get ready. She ran right into the bathroom, cutting off her younger brother, George, just as he opened the door. As she closed it, she heard George's complaints on how he was there first.

"Too late, brace face." Lauren commented from behind the closed door, commenting on her brother's new braces that were just put on a few months ago. A loud groan of impatience and anger came from the other side and he continued to a string of complaints as he left to get dressed., causing Lauren to smirk.

After brushing her hair and applying her makeup, she went back into the living room and saw that her family was all ready to go.

She looked confused on why they were staring at her, "What?" She asked in slight insecurity.

Archimedes was about to answer, but George spoke before he could, "Duh, we're all waiting on you, it'sth about time you were ready!"

This earned him a glare from his sister, and an elbow from his older brother, Ty. The blonde pouted in protest, he turned away from his siblings with his arms crossed tightly, also upset about his inability to control his lisp.

"Alright! Enough dilly dally! We need to hit the road if we're gonna make it in time!" Nancy insisted.

Lauren looked at the clock that hung on the wall and was shocked on how late they were. She practically jumped down the stairs started pushing the entire family out of the penthouse doors, grabbing her black jacket with gold rims on the way out.

* * *

They all burst through the hotel doors and started cramming into the limousine that had been parked out front. George was squished into the window as the Lo bumped into everybody to make sure they had everything, which caused Ty to fall out of his seat.

"Ty! Quit fooling around! We need to hurry." His sister rebuked, not seeing that she had caused this to happen. He mumbled something snarky and sarcastic that Lauren did not quite catch.

Johnny, who is to be their chauffeur for this trip, looked behind his seat. He asked if everything was okay, his face having a mixture of concern and shock, but his question remained unanswered. After they had everything settled down, Johnny drove off, hoping that this trip would be nice, quiet, and easy.

However, like most things in the young man's life, things did not happen the way he wanted it to. George would throw in a sarcastic comment or cynical remark which, as always, ignited a spark of anger in Lauren. Before the heated argument got too loud, the other Ridgemounts put an end to it, since it would most likely end with someone getting hurt.

Complaints were also thrown in here and there. Sometimes it was an agitated "Move over" or a whiny "I'm _hungry_". There was also the occasional, and classic "Are we there yet?". At certain points during the venture, Johnny was tempted to push the tantalizing button, to raise the partition and finally be surrounded by quiet and tranquility for once on this otherwise beautiful day. However, his uncertainty over what the consequences would be snapped him out of his wishes.

Soon, Johnny was calm with a peaceful smile on his face because, for the first time since the beginning of their five hours on the road, the Ridgemounts were perfectly quiet. The youngest had his head resting gently on his mother's shoulder, pulled into a content sleep. Ty had popped his earphones in and mentally jammed to some oldies. Lauren was quietly flipping through a magazine, her back hunched over and the magazine sitting on her crossed legs. She looked as though she was trying to keep herself from falling asleep.

Johnny had failed to notice the gas tank was running empty until they hit one of the exits. He quickly took a right and pulled into one of the nearest gas stations, much to the protest of the small device that was giving him directions. Ty looked out the window when he felt them stop, taking out his ear buds and turned off the music he had put on his phone.

Without addressing the family, Johnny got out and walked toward the gas pump, showing the neat and trim black suit that he has to wear when driving the limousine. Nancy lightly shook the boy awake, causing him to jump slightly with his eyes half open. He wiped the small amount of drool at the corner of his lip and opened the door on his side.

The gust of fresh air felt as if they had just escaped an evil tyrant and were finally free. Their legs felt as if they have not used them in ages. They all gave a long stretch, glad to be out of the cramped vehicle.

Archimedes took out his wallet from the pocket of his usual suit, handing each of his kids ten dollars, telling them to hurry and get something to eat so they can get back on the road. Also telling George not to get something too hard or sticky, not wanting him to break one of the brackets of his braces. This the young blonde did not like abiding to, but had no choice in the matter. If he did buy something he was not supposed to eat, his father would simply take it and eat it himself.

Afterwards, while the adults made their coffee and Johnny paid for gas, Lauren was lying down on the hood of the long, black vehicle. She opened the package of the small chocolate donuts she bought, and bit the first one in half. She looked at the wooded area next to the road that bustled with light and colors of individual cars.

She heard the coming of footsteps behind her, she turned her head slightly to see her older brother coming up and sitting next to her on the hood of the limousine, his elbows resting on his parted knees and his hands hanging loosely. He rolled up the sleeves of his black and green polo sweater. He normally just wore shorts and a T-Shirt, but this was a special occasion.

"Ya know, Dad's gonna throw a fit when he sees us sitting on the limo." Ty said, looking over his shoulder at her. Lauren merely shrugged, as she was used to hearing him lecture her about "disrespecting his property". He looked back at the wooded area and became somewhat lost in thought. The sun was in it's early stages of setting into the west, as if it were submerging into the Earth, coating the skies with blackness.

Lauren sat up and crossed her legs, and decided to break the silence that was filtered by the noisy, mechanical city, "So, how's the medical field goin'?"

He seemed slightly surprised by the question, his sister never really took interest to what was going on in his life before, yet still answered it with a smile, "It's been pretty good so far, actually. I'm moving slowly, but surely. Most of the doctors are pretty nice, they even help me with my studies when we're on break."

Tyler had started his first year of college recently and was currently majoring in surgery and first aid, and also managed to get a job in Sunset Island's best hospital. He thoroughly enjoyed his studies, and walking into the glass doors of the pure white building every weekday gave him the feeling a hero would get when starting a new adventure.

The people he met everyday were always so kind, enough so that they willingly took time out of there break to help the poor rookie with some of the steps. When he got there right after class, he would compare how the doctors explained and did the process compared to his professor, one tends to make more sense than the other.

Lauren nodded, and responded with a mumbled "Cool." She looked down at her package of donuts to discover she was down to the last one. She frowned slightly and let out a barely audible groan. Sighing she popped the last one in her mouth.

Tyler smirked at his sister, "I thought you would be excited. I mean, we're pretty close to the air port, only a few miles left."

Lauren twiddled her fingers in a bored manner, "A few miles too many." She responded dryly, looking over to the entrance of the store, "Are they done yet?"

As if on cue, Johnny and her parents emerged from the glass doors, leaving a small bell at the top of them to ring. Lauren nudged her brother as a signal to get down.

* * *

The air port was in sight, as they raced down the freeway the large airborne vehicles appeared to be staying still, like a parade balloon being tugged along by a group of uniformed men and women. Lauren was starting to feel the excitement that her brother had questioned earlier.

Her hands and nose were pressed up against the window, her mouth forming a gaped grin and her breath fogging up the tinted glass. She moved a little closer into the glass, her cheeks pressed into it, making her look as though she could be a chipmunk.

"Nerd." Lauren heard from behind her. Her excitement was masked by irritation in nearly a second. Looking over her shoulder, with her hands still upon the window, she saw George looking at her with a very cynical expression. His arms were crossed over his gray hoodie. Lauren wished he would have dressed somewhat decently for her friends' arrival. If he was going to see his obvious yet vehemently denied crush for the first time in months, he could have at least dressed like it. She gave him a glare, her lips twisting into a pout.

Lauren was going to respond, but decided not get into another argument with the twelve-year-old instigator. She was about to press her face against the window again, but Johnny stopped her before she could.

"Lo, you do realize that someone has to clean those windows, and by 'someone' I mean me." He said, looking at the heiress through the rear view mirror.

She took her hands down and looked up at were they were, fingerprints was all that remained, looking a bit ghostly. "Sorry." She responded sheepishly, giving him an apologetic look on her face. Johnny has been a friend of hers for a long time, she did not want to make him go through any extra labor. He gave her a reassuring nod.

"I could take the window lock off," He said, "since George isn't sitting by the window anymore."

The young blonde was no longer allowed to open the window in the limousine, the reckless boy tended to stick his entire torso out the window rather than just his head. The chauffeur now had to make sure that, as long as George was sitting in a seat next to the window, the lock would be on. It would be a while before his father believes that he had changed his reckless habits.

She smiled at the young man, "That would be great."

Johnny took the lock off of the windows, and Lauren did not hesitate to stick her head out.

* * *

After what seemed like a whole eternity in the parking lot, twisting and weaving through an assortment of concrete walls and metal cars, they had walked through the glass automatic doors and were greeted with a rush of cool air. Overwhelming amounts of voices and clicking heels filled their ears.

The Ridgemounts ended up participating in the chorus of many voices, shouting at each other over where their desired terminal would be, considering the men of the bunch refused to ask an employee of it's location. Lauren rolled her eyes at the prideful men, wondering why it would take every ounce of will power only to admit of needing help.

Archimedes finally ended up swallowing his pride and asked an employee for help. With ever-present smile, she directed the family and their chauffeur toward the very gate that alluded them.

They all sat in the barely cushioned chairs, some tapping their fingers on the armrest with a bored expression. George sought fit to get into a war with his sister on who gets their conjoined armrest. The dispute ended with Tyler moving the young blonde to a seat on the completely separate row of chairs.

Johnny walked up to the rich family, and they all looked up at him expectantly, as if he were about to tell them that they could magically transport back home in the soft, warm comfort of their beds.

"I'd hate to be, ya know, the bearer of bad news," He started, noticing a change in expression on each of their faces, "but as it turns out, the flight was delayed. So, their plane won't be here in another 45 minutes, at least."

An off-key chorus of groans and agitated grunts stung the young man's ears like frostbite, causing him to give an almost fearful face, as if waiting for an impact of a fist.

"Great," Lauren said bitterly, "now what? We can't just sit here the whole time!"

"Yeah!" George nearly shouted, being in agreement with his sister for the first time that day, "I'm tired of thitting!"

Tyler looked around, hoping that their surroundings could stimulate something joyful or entertaining for his exhausted family. Out of the corner of his eye, he managed to spot a a small restaurant caving into the wall like a store in the mall. This he was familiar with the set up quite well, with Lauren being his sister.

"Hey, guys," He said, everyone turning their attention to him at the sound of his voice, "There's a restaurant over there. We can get something there."

"Ew, as if I'd eat there. It looks dirty and gross." Lauren said, using her face and arms as visual aid.

Nancy stood, "Come now, Lo, it can't be that bad." Though she agreed with her daughter, she wanted to be the bearer of enthusiasm. She did not think her husband can take any more complaints, she could tell when his blood pressure was rising.

The young brunette groaned, though grudgingly agreed. Even after they entered the small eating establishment, her face was still twisted into a pout.

* * *

The Ridgemounts had just arrived back to the gate about a half an hour later, slightly disappointed to see it was still the same. Empty, haunting; like the entrance to a long, eternal tunnel. They sat down closer to the gate's entrance when they saw the seats no longer occupied. Lauren immediately started trying to get comfortable in the rock-hard seats, shifting and turning to see if it were possible to make it feel like the couch down at the penthouse.

"Don't get too comfortable, Lo," Johnny said, seeing as how it was pretty obvious to what she was doing, "Their plane should be here in about five minutes."

"It was _supposed_ to be here, like, an hour ago." Lauren replied, not looking up.

Johnny frowned, and looked back down at his twiddling thumbs, hoping to have no more of this awkward and somewhat painful silence once their friends arrived. He directed his attention to the large, tinted window. His face screamed of both happiness and relief when he saw a large plane headed toward the gate.

"Ridgemounts," He said, getting everyone's attention, "I think they're here."

The rich family was so happy to hear the news, that they thought his words were just pure illusion. They all turned their attention to the transparent glass, and saw that the words he spoke were no fantasy. The very plane they had booked specifically for Lauren's friends was in perfectly clear view.

Lauren jumped up and ran to the window, pressing her face and hands against the glass just as she had when the airport was in sight. She gasped in sheer delight, her friends were inside that plane and they were mere meters away from her. She barely even noticed Johnny right beside her, doing the exact same thing.

Once the plane stopped, she and her family ran over to the empty gate entrance. Lauren, Ty and Johnny were so close to it that they were told by Mr. Ridgemount to step back.

A large crowd of people flooded the gate entrance, going to their designated place and reuniting with friends and family. The three teenagers scanned the crowd intently, desperately trying to see if anyone familiar to come into view.

As the crowd started to dissipate, all three became worried. They wondered if they had perhaps they arrived at the wrong gate, and their friends were lost in the large airport with no idea where to go or who to turn to.

Their worried washed away like the sand on a pristine beach when they saw a small group of people exit the gate all at once. Lauren was smiling so wide her lips appeared to reach her ears, showing off her perfect teeth. She wasted no time rushing over to them.

"Hey guys!" Lauren shouted. She ran over to Emma and hugged her, causing the redhead to take a step back from surprise. Once over her surprise, she smiled sweetly and hugged her friend back.

"Lo!" Emma almost shouted with so much enthusiasm, "It's so good to see you! It's been so long! It's great to be back!"

The two girls let go of their hug and Lauren still had a lip-bursting grin plastered on her face. Lauren squealed in contentment at the sight of her friends, she could not control her excitement. It almost seemed other worldly.

Emma looked over and saw the chauffeur with an impossibly bigger smile on his face, who was too happy to even move a muscle. She ran over to him, and hugged him with a happy yet gentle grip.

"Johnny!" She said as he spun her in a circle the moment she ran up to him, causing her green dress to flow almost like a trail following her. "I missed you!"

Too thrilled to speak, he kissed her sweetly, which said more than enough for her. They stayed in each other arms for a few moments in content silence, he could feel her breathe against his chest. He pulled away and looked at her angelic, freckled face in pure happiness.

"I missed you, too." He managed to say, causing her to give out a light giggle. He had missed that sound, her laugh was one the many things he loved about her, it was so soft and soothing. Every time he heard it, he was coated with such smooth sensations of joy. Emma fixed her black belt and started telling him stories about her flight and events that they did not discuss over the phone or video messaging.

Meanwhile, Lauren went over and hugged her other best friend, Fin.

"You look so different!" Lauren said when the two let go. The blonde chuckled a bit at this statement.

"Lo, my hair only grew a few inches, it's not like I dyed it green and got a tattoo." She joked, showing off her traditional laid back smile.

Lauren laughed along with her dearly missed friend, "I know, but still, it's different." She then looked over to one her guy friends, "I see _someone_ is still rockin' the same hair from last summer."

Everyone turned their attention to Reef, who had little differences in his appearance. He flashed a cheesy smile and flexed a bit, puffing out his chest.

"C'mon, ya know the Reefster don't do change. Especially he wants to impress his lady." He put an arm around Fin in a manner in which he thought was sly. She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, yet still had a smile on her face, a light shade of pink barely visible on her face. She crossed her arms as he put her wool skull hat on his head.

"I didn't know you were into girl hats." She said with light hearted sarcasm as she tried to reach for her hat back. He took it off of his head and quickly held it in the air, a smirk coming across his face. This caused the blonde to become irritated and start jumping to reach for it.

Lauren giggled, she had missed the constant bickering and flirting of Reef and Fin, it was better than any of the couples she had seen on television.

Reef finally gave in, lowering his arm only slightly, just enough for her to barely reach. She gave him a bit of a snarl as she pulled her hat over her head, gripping the ends tightly before he could try anything funny. This caused the arrogant surf bum to chuckle, and put his arm around her in one sly motion. Her pout half morphed into a smile as she rolled her eyes, resting them on the hand that was on her shoulder.

Lauren smiled lovingly at the bittersweet display. She may not know what Fin sees in him, after dating him herself, but she is pleasantly surprised that they managed to make it work over the school year. Albeit, on and off. Long distance brings trust issues to any couple, especially if your boyfriend is Reef.

She turned her attention to the rest of the group that she had yet to greet. One of them stepped up from the crowd and walked up to her. Lauren gladly obliged and hugged her friend in the same excited manner.

"Lo! I'm so happy to be back! I missed you guys!" She said as she hugged the brunette heiress.

"I missed you guys too! I'm so happy you were able to make it, Jess! I heard there was some trouble with your parents..." Lauren's voice trailed off, mentally kicking herself for bringing up the subject.

Jess frowned slightly as the girls let go. "Yeah... But, it's fixed... somewhat..." She hid her hands behind her back and looked down at her feet.

Lauren forced a smile, "But, you're here, and I'm glad. I want to make the best of it."

Her friend's smile returned to her face, and her own became natural again.

Jess broke their gaze when a familiar scruff of ginger hair caught the corner of her eye. She craned her neck toward the source, and tensed with excitement, a certain gleam coating her eyes.

Tyler gave a surprisingly shy wave toward her, the ecstatic grin she gave in return made his chest tighten. He was even more excited to see her now that she was finally here. After adjusting her yellow sweater and jean skirt, Jess tried to keep her composure as she nearly ran over to him. He scooped her up and gave her the first full-hearted embrace that she had felt in a long time.

She buried her face in the slope where his neck and shoulder met, nearly swelling with tears and a goofy smile plastered on her face. Not only because she felt happy to see him, but because after several months she felt genuinely happy.

Despite the fact that it was her brother that was receiving her friend's affection, Lauren smiled sweetly at the display, especially after what she heard her friend had been through. She would admit that they were cute together, if it weren't for the fact he would never let her hear the end of it.

Lauren turned at the feeling of staring, yet smiling, eyes behind her. She chuckled nervously and waved at the rest of her friends, seeing as how they had yet to be greeted.

"Aloha ahiahi, Lo!" One female said as she walked up to hug said heiress, a bit of a relief to Lauren. "It's so great to see you again!"

Lauren returned her friend's endearing gesture, "It's great to see you too, Kenny! I haven't heard from you in a while, what's up?"

Kendra gave a light sigh. Lauren tensed a bit, fearing for bringing up another touchy subject with one of her friends. Her concern turned to confusion when she saw her Hawaiian friend keeping her smile up, inwardly questioning Lauren's concern.

"My mom's been going overboard about my trip. She wouldn't let me even go near my computer or phone until I was done packing. Maybe she thinks I procrastinate too much..." Kendra responded, her words washing away Lauren's concern such as the tide would do to the shore. Her sigh of relief made her fail to see some of the light leave her Hawaiian friend's eyes.

Lauren gave a light hearted chuckle, unaware of her friend's internal conflict, "Well, I'm glad you made it. How was the flight?"

Kendra smiled again while playing with the button on her jean shorts, "Heh, pretty good. I looked out the window a few times. The ground and the mountains from the sky was very nani. Then this kook next to me kept stealing the gum from my carry-on and left the chewed pieces on my armrest."

Lauren grimaced at the thought, "Gross." She commented. Kendra nodded in agreement. The wahine saw the Emma motioning to come over to where she, Johnny, Reef and Fin were conversing. Her wandered gaze caught Lauren's attention and she turned to the group. She motioned for her black haired friend to the group, as she needed to greet her other friends that she missed.

As Kendra walked over to the two couples, Lauren turned to the rest of her friends, who waited somewhat patiently for her to greet them. Two greatly age-gapped females came up, the younger looked as though she where being dragged a bit. The older one gladly stepped up and held out her hand. Lauren remembered that her friend was not exactly the touchy-feely type, so she shook her hand in return.

"Kaycee! I missed you, girl. How've you been? I see you still dye your hair crazy colors" Lauren joked. Kaycee chuckled silently as they let go of their hands. The only way Lauren could tell she was laughing was that her shoulders moved up and down as she did so.

"Yeah, I do." She said, flipping said pink locks from her face with one fast head movement, as she was using a blue headband for decoration and not for its intended purpose. "And we've been feeling pretty good about this summer. Roxxie wanted to know if she was allowed to come over to the penthouse and see George and Grommet."

Lauren fixed her gaze to Roxanne, who looked as though she was about to collapse on the stone cold tiled floor and fall asleep for the next week. The heiress glanced to Roxanne's older sister a bit uncomfortably. Kaycee nudged the recently turned thirteen-year-old, snapping her awake.

"Hm. You may have to ask Daddy about that. He's still upset about what happened last Christmas." Lauren said, trying not to recall said memories.

Roxanne looked over to the groups conversing on themselves. She saw George sitting with his parents, not really paying any attention as to what they were saying. She released herself from her sister's grip, and walked slowly over to her friend and trying to hide the numbness of her legs.

"Hey." She said as she stood over him smiling coolly, getting his attention. George looked up at the pigtailed brunette and smiled, noticeably struggling to keep his mouth closed. This caused Roxanne to frown a bit.

"What's wrong?" She half demanded, and half concerned. George merely stared at his feet and twiddled his thumbs, trying to avoid the question at hand. To this the defiant preteen deepened her frown and furrowed her brows. She bent over to where she could see his face in his seated position.

"Hey." She said in his face with a bit more concern in her voice, "What'sa matter?"

He sighed, seeing as though she would just continue to pester him. He stood, making her stand upright to keep from their faces from hitting each other. She looked at him expectantly, though her black and gold ball cap made her expression hard to see. He started making a few faces, as if building up the courage to show her. Her sassy face was visibly impatient.

He mustered up a sheepish smile, showing off the blue brackets ever glued on his teeth, the whiteness of his teeth just barely showing. He watched her expression, which had drawn to a blank after he had showed her his new braces. He caught her lips twisting before she looked down and brought her hand to her mouth, hiding her face with her hat. His face dropped to a look almost offended when her shoulders started bouncing and a faint giggling reluctantly escaped passed her lips.

Turning away, George's face got angry as she let her laughter flow freely. Sensing his movement, she looked up with her face still red from laughter, and grabbed his shoulder. She tried to get him to face her, he shook her away and kept walking towards nothing whatsoever.

"C'mon! I'm sorry!" She said, still laughing a bit, which did not help her to convince him to face her. He picked up his pace and eventually started into a jog. She followed him, laughing and trying to exceed his stride. He ran, chuckling a bit as she struggled to keep up with him. Last year, she could outrun him in a heartbeat. Either the first stage of puberty was giving him a bit of a kick or she was losing her touch. Either way, she did not like it.

Kaycee had walked over to Ty and Jess sometime during this game of tag, though still kept a close eye on her sister to see if she were to bother any of the people around them.

"Hi, David!" Lauren said happily to the tall, shaggy haired male as she hugged him.

"Hey, Lo." David replied, chuckling a bit at the heiress's excitement and hugging her back. She let him go and smiled broadly. "So, how's Surfer's Paradise been?" He asked casually.

Lauren assumed he meant the staff, and shrugged. "Well, Johnny and Broseph have been doin' _great_. I haven't really heard much from Kelly since she started college, but from what I _had_ heard, she's doing pretty good too. She, Ripper and Lance probably just arrived at the staff lodge by now..." She responded, trying to think of what she had been told by her friends.

David grinned in a laid-back manner. "Cool! Glad to hear it." He said in a friendly tone.

The brunette giggled a bit. "Yeah. So, how've you been? Kelly's told me that the business world is doing pretty well for you!" She said happily, shrugging her shoulders a bit in enthusiasm.

He nodded a bit. "Yeah, it has." He answered simply, raising the strap of his duffel bag higher on his shoulder. The heiress noticed that he seemed pretty tired, most likely from driving all that way. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked in concern.

Noticing her concern, David nodded. "Yeah." He said, sniffling a bit. "Just... tired." The friendliness returned to his voice. "Well, can't wait to see everyone else. It'll be great to see Kelly again!" He said with enthusiasm.

Lauren forgot her concerns. "I bet! She's been _dying_ to see you!" She mused, nudging him a bit and raising a suggestive brow, to which he laughed.

They all continued their conversing until Mr. Ridgemount stood and cleared his throat, which immediately got their attention, even George and Roxanne. The abnormally large man put his arms behind his back in a dignified manner. "Now, everyone, listen up." He demanded across the scattered group. "We do not have enough space in our limousine for all of you. As a result, we have gotten some back up transportation that has just arrived." He informed, gesturing outside. Looking out the window, everyone saw the Whale Bus sitting out front, with the Kahuna giving a chill wave from the front seat before taking off to find a parking space.

"Now, since you are Lauren's friends, she will decide which three of you will be riding in the limousine with us." He finished firmly.

His daughter sighed. "Ah, Daddy, why do _I_ have to choose?" She questioned, not wanting to choose between friends. She did not want to make her other friends feel bad by picking a select few.

Her father raised a brow. "Well, you could _all_ ride in the Whale Bus." He responded, thinking it would get her to pick already. However, to his surprise, she practically beamed.

"That would work!" The heiress responded excitedly, putting her arms on Fin and Emma's shoulders. Mr. Ridgemount was about to protest, though realized that she had been waiting for this ever since her friends left.

"Alright, have it your way." He said calmly, gesturing with his arms. All the girls squealed in happiness, jumping up and down with excitement.

George tugged on his father's sleeve, catching his attention. "Dad, can Roxxie come in the limo with us?" He asked, dragging the female by her arm to that she would stand in front of him. She smiled sheepishly. Unknown as to why, she had always been slightly afraid of her friend's father. To her, by the looks of it, he could probably snap her in half in an instant. She knew he would never really do that, but the thought still left her uneasy.

His father placed his fists on his hips, yet still nodded. "Of course. In fact, I think it would be better off this way. Now, you and your sister won't fight the _whole way home._" He said accusingly, to which the bleach blonde boy shrugged.

"I guess..." He responded halfheartedly, crossing his arms. Roxanne laughed a bit at her friend, knowing the feeling of having an annoyingly uptight sibling.

* * *

After exiting the airport doors, they walked to their respective vehicles, which were deep within the never ending rows of cars within the parking lot. With their legs exhausted, and their feet sore, it was relieving to sit down on the bus's old leather seats. The Kahuna made sure everyone was inside of the bus before closing the doors. "You dudes and dudettes ready for another summer?" He asked, looking into his rear view mirror at the chilled teens behind him.

"Yeah!" They all cheered simultaneously. With another cheer from the laid-back man, they took off, with the Ridgemount limousine following close behind. Johnny made sure to keep up to avoid using the GPS, which was a torture to handle. Not that it was hard to notice a large, purple Whale Bus. They finally made it out of the airport parking lot after a few minutes, and sped off on the highway, happy to finally be headed home.

In the limousine, the ride was fairly quietly compared to the one to the airport, which the young chauffeur had found very relieving. He liked it when no one was fighting, when no one was yelling, when nobody down each other's throats. Peaceful, quiet. It was almost bliss. The only time someone ever yelled was when the two preteens got into an inappropriate subject, or if either had made an offensive joke; some of which Johnny found very funny, though he managed to control himself. If they had, Mr. Ridgemount had cleared his throat or yell a bit, depending upon the situation, which resulted in a bit of awkward silence before the two started up again after it had faded. In a way, he was kind of glad everyone else had boarded the bus, even though he did miss Emma already.

Meanwhile, in the bus, things were a little more chaotic. The Kahuna had become lost in a song tape he had put into the player a while ago, so he paid no mind to the loud teens crowding in the backseats. He would occasionally asked them questions, which usually had pretty simple answers. Fin and Reef would bicker, as always, and tease each other constantly, which just got some giggles, and occasionally some 'oh's, out of the other teens. Lauren sat in the middle of the crowd, grinning like crazy seeing her friends sitting with her on the bus, just like old times. Nothing ever really changed, when she thought about it. Emma was still sweet as can be, Fin was still her awesome tomboy self, Reef was still self-centered but caring, David was still the cool and smart guy he always is, Kendra was still awkward yet fun, and Kaycee was still nosy and kind of bossy.

And herself. As she thought about, she had not really changed much either. She was still the fashonista who hated working and loved to surf. Yet, for some reason, she felt different. She was unsure what to make of that feeling, and tried shrugging it off, having no desire for a heavy heart, especially not on a day such as this.

* * *

The Kahuna looked behind him in his rear view mirror to see some groggy teens, some already asleep. He laughed a bit, knowing that their excitement would fade after so much time in a boring bus. Though, he also knew that, by the time they get there, their adrenalin would come rushing back to them.

Emma opened her eyes slowly, and lifted her head from the pillow to see the familiar landscape rush passed the windows. Her eyes shot opened immediately, a quiet gasp escaping her lips. She beamed as she saw the movie theater fly across the window, she knew they were close. Turning, she shook Fin, who was next to her, awake. The blonde's head shot up and the feeling, and she raised a brow at the red headed girl, wondering why she would do that. She pointed out the window and the tomboy smiled immediately, even letting a giggle flow from her lips. The rest, who were awake, looked into the window and they too were becoming immensely happy. Kendra even pressed her face up against the window.

The girls started squealing as soon as the Wipeout Statue came into view. The all grasped hands, trying to contain their excitement.

They parked right out front. They all stepped out of the bus, incredibly stoked to be back where they belong.

* * *

**A/N: **I was going to make this longer, but I realized that this had been terribly delayed in posting, which I apologize to **Emperor of the Animal Kingdom**for. Also, if it seems like I did not characterize OCs correctly, please tell me. I also need to know how they _would _act in that particular situation.

So, yeah. **R&R**


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